What used to be Philadelphia’s Four Seasons hotel is set to reopen as a branch of Hilton’s high-end Curio brand, the hotel’s operator said Tuesday.
The property, which will be renamed the Logan, will be completely renovated before opening this fall, Denver-based Sage Hospitality Group said in a statement.
The Logan Square hotel, owned by Host Hotels & Resorts, will have its traditional decor updated to a more modern look, according to Sage, which did not provide a budget for the renovations.
The Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust and the Macerich Co. say it will take $325 million in new investment to transform the Gallery at Market East into what they are calling Fashion Outlets of Philadelphia.
That is on top of the $250 million already spent by PREIT to assemble what had been privately owned property in the project area, bringing the total development cost to about $575 million.
The rest of the area still owned by the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority will be conveyed to the developers as part of the revitalization plan being reviewed by City Council.
The sign in question is to the right of the tall building and the incline. Looks like a cement wall next to the trees on the cliff. Actually a billboard.
Picture this scrolling hundreds of feet above the iconic confluence of Pittsburgh’s three rivers: “Chipped ham, $1.39 a pound.”
That’s the plot Mayor Bill Peduto says his administration has foiled as it negotiates a new permit with Lamar Advertising for the company’s famous 32-foot-tall, 225-foot-long neon sign on Mount Washington, which has loomed over the Point since around the time of the 1929 stock market crash that triggered the Great Depression.
Bayer, which for years had pushed for upgrades to the dilapidated sign that was covered with a banner during the G-20 summit in 2009 like an embarrassing piece of furniture, finally dropped its nearly 22-year lease of the sign last summer. Lamar pledged to overhaul it. During its lifespan, the sign has also been graced by the sponsorship of Iron City Beer and Alcoa, and displayed the time and the temperature.
Mr. Peduto said Friday that the company is threatening to cease the improvements over his administration’s insistence that the sign not be used for advertising purposes beyond displaying a company name. Mr. Peduto said he was told his stance “killed” a deal with Giant Eagle to become the new sponsor.
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The county airport authority wants West Mifflin’s Allegheny County Airport to be a destination — but not for commuter flights.
That sums up a meeting borough officials had Monday with new authority CEO Christina Cassotis that came 24 hours before a $1.5 million federal grant was announced for taxiway rehabilitation there.
“It was a positive meeting,” borough Manager Brian Kamauf said. “We discussed the history of the airport.”
It dates back to Pittsburgh and McKeesport’s window to the world between 1931 and 1952, when commercial service moved from West Mifflin to what then was Greater Pittsburgh Airport, now Pittsburgh International.
Read more: http://triblive.com/neighborhoods/yourmckeesport/yourmckeesportmore/8407018-74/airport-county-authority#ixzz3asqtZ8jy
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A New York developer unveiled plans today to convert the Allegheny Center mall on the North Side into a technology hub and campus to be known as Nova Place.
The multimillion-dollar project being undertaken by Faros Properties will include an extensive renovation of the 1.2 million-square-foot complex, making it one of the largest redevelopment projects in the country, officials said.
Work will include upgraded offices, collaborative workspaces, new restaurants, a fitness center, a conference center and improved common areas.
In unveiling the changes, Faros announced that Innovation Works has signed a lease to occupy 12,000 square feet in the complex. The company will move from its current space in Pittsburgh to Allegheny Center next month and into permanent space in the fall.
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Repurposing the troubled Mall at Steamtown as a Reading Terminal-style market, a casino or a skating rink will remain a dream.
That is because the mall’s lease agreement with Boscov’s Department Store allows the anchor tenant to veto significant changes like that, said department store chairman Al Boscov in an interview at The Times-Tribune, a Times-Shamrock newspaper, on Monday.
Boscov’s Department Store will likely be among bidders in the June 1 – 3 auction of the Mall at Steamtown and the goal will be to buy the mall and keep the mall all — or predominantly — retail, he said.
Boscov wants to keep people with ideas of re-purposing the mall, some of whom he called “cranks,” away from the auction scheduled by LNR Partners, the mall’s caretaker since it was taken over by lenders following foreclosure.
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http://citizensvoice.com/news/boscov-mall-at-steamtown-changes-must-get-my-approval-1.1883885
Allegheny Health Network proposes investing part of $175 million from Highmark Inc. in renovations and technology upgrades at its Allegheny General and West Penn hospitals, anticipating that they will accommodate more patients when Highmark insurance subscribers lose in-network access to UPMC next year.
The Highmark-owned hospital system would build outpatient medical centers and expand emergency, trauma and women’s health services to underserved parts of Western Pennsylvania as part of a spending plan that executives say will help it better compete with UPMC.
“The entire amount … will be used for capital improvements at Allegheny Health Network to fill in certain service line gaps,” Chief Financial Officer Karen Hanlon said during a state Department of Insurance hearing Monday. “No portion of the requested funding will go to pay operating expenses.”
UPMC Treasurer Tal Heppenstall Jr. said Allegheny Health Network is in worse financial condition than Highmark has reported and chided the company for its “profound lack of financial transparency.” He said it appears Highmark is hiding huge losses in “sporadic, fragmented and murky” financial statements.
Read more: http://triblive.com/news/healthnews/8208546-74/highmark-health-network#ixzz3ZH4hmeqt
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Everything about the decrepit Gallery at Market East may be about to change.
Under an intended top-to-bottom renovation, one of Center City’s most notorious dead spots would be reborn as a gleaming glass-and-steel emporium – brimming with brand-name discount fashion shops, destination restaurants, and lively sidewalk cafés.
Even the name would be new. Welcome, shoppers, to the Fashion Outlets of Philadelphia.
Details of the plan were provided exclusively to The Inquirer in advance of a series of meetings by government agencies whose support is vital to the project. The news marks a grand unveiling of plans for the Gallery following years of uncertainty and speculation.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20150415_PREIT_reveals_the_Gallery_s_new_look.html#ZjuIZxyXWmB7TTV1.99
When Borko Milosev bought a 10-story office building in Bethlehem in December, he had new plans in mind.
Instead of offices, Milosev thought the upper floors of the Santander building on the corner of Elizabeth Avenue and Center Street were better suited for apartments.
“You have an unobstructed views all around it,” he said. “The views are absolutely gorgeous.”
Milosev and a business partner have submitted plans to the Bethlehem Zoning Hearing Board to turn the building’s six upper floors into 48 apartments. The four lower floors would remain offices.
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http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/bethlehem/index.ssf/2015/03/10-story_bethlehem_building_be.html
SCRANTON, PA — The Mall at Steamtown hasn’t exactly been running at full power lately.
But a couple of brothers have gone to social media to pitch an idea to put more firepower in the ailing mall, and the public is starting to take notice.
Scranton natives Michael Boyd and his brother George think creating a marketplace similar to the long-standing Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia could be the key to the city’s revitalization.
The downward spiral of the once-vibrant downtown mall has been apparent in recent years. A walk through the two-story structure on Lackawanna Avenue last week showed 47 active store fronts and 23 shuttered ones.
Read more: http://www.timesleader.com/news/business/151922265/
Wilmington is becoming quite the hot spot for young professionals.
In Delaware’s largest city, about 30 miles south on I-95 from Philadelphia, the downtown is expanding with several hundred apartments on the way.
These new apartments, profiled in a New York Times article this week, are aimed at millennials who are “driving increased demand for city-center living, car-free commutes and transit oriented development in cities around the country,” the article states.
To build these residential units, developers are taking vacant or underused buildings and either demolishing or renovating them.
Every day, Miss Anna comes to the Gallery – and on Tuesday, she was particularly elegant, in a long purple sweater, fashionable hairstyle, her eyebrows etched in darkly, perfectly arched.
“Her brother died two years ago,” said George Thomas, who owns the Creative Silver jewelry kiosk on the ground floor. “She was crushed. If I don’t see Miss Anna for two days, I worry. I call her.”
Who will worry about Anna Mazella, an Aramark retiree in her 80s, when Thomas closes his business – not by choice – at the end of the month?
In November, the Gallery’s owners, the Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust and the Macerich Co., began to tell dozens of merchants that they would have deadlines to leave – some by the end of December, others at the end of January or February.
Her work transforming an awkward, cramped kitchen into an inviting space ideal for entertaining has earned a Pittsburgh newcomer national attention.
Interior designer Lauren Levant Bland, 32, of Lawrenceville won for “Most Dramatic Transformation” in HGTV’s Fresh Faces of Design competition identifying the Top 10 American designers under age 35.
“I was really thrilled” says Levant Bland, owner of Lauren Levant Interior. “I always like it when I know the design I’ve done pleases the client, and to think it’s also been intriguing for other people to see is a wonderful honor.”
In their search for the newest crop of up-and-coming talent, HGTV invited designers from all over the country to submit their work. A panel of industry leaders then selected finalists for awards in 10 categories, and the public voted to select the winners.
Read more: http://triblive.com/lifestyles/morelifestyles/7464029-74/kitchen-bland-levant#ixzz3O3Y1bJkr
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Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Northampton County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
A developer has submitted new plans for three buildings that will include stores, offices and apartments across from the former Bethlehem Steel Corp. site in Bethlehem.
Developer BethWorks Renovations has submitted plans for one five-story and two four-story buildings along East Third Street across from Northampton Community College.The company’s previous plans for the site called for one five-story and two three-story buildings, but its total of 111 apartments remains the same.
The company’s new plans are scheduled to go before the Bethlehem Planning Commission 4 p.m. Thursday.
BethWorks’ five-story building would be located at 422-430 E. Third St., which is on the corner of Fillmore Street. It’s proposed to have first-floor retail space and 96 apartments.
Read more: http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/bethlehem/index.ssf/2014/10/new_plans_for_south_bethlehem.html
English: City of Allentown from east side (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The developer already behind $500 million of development in downtown Allentown has something new up his sleeve.
J.B. Reilly announced plans Wednesday to renovate a blighted vacant building at Eighth and Linden streets, turning the ground level floor into 4,000-square-feet of retail space.
The upper floors of the three-story building will become either apartments or office space, and a rooftop restaurant could be established there as well, Reilly said.
“We think this is a really important project because it’s sort of the gateway into the residential neighborhood,” said Reilly, president of
City Center Lehigh Valley. “We think it’ll have a pretty big impact on the neighborhood outside the NIZ.”
Read more: http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/allentown/index.ssf/2014/10/allentown_developer_announces.html
Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Allegheny County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The place known for jet ways featured a runway Sept. 29.
The Airmall at Pittsburgh International Airport teamed with the Allegheny County Airport Authority for a special fashion event to mark the 15th anniversary of the airport authority and celebrate the completion of a $10 million renovation that created a new retail core in the center of the airport’s air-side terminal.
“Fly 2014: An Invitation to Fashion & Flair With Altitude” showcased the latest styles from the Airmall shops. The fashion show was the first event of this kind for the airport since it opened in 1992.
The show helped introduce new retail stores at the Airmall, including several international luxury brands. Italian-based Pinko recently opened its first U.S. store in the Airmall. Other stores include Furla, Lacoste, Armani Jeans, Hugo Boss, Tumi, Desigual, Collezioni — the Beauty Gallery and Bottega dei Sapori, an Italian specialty foods store.
Read more: http://triblive.com/lifestyles/fashion/6785773-74/airmall-airport-stores#ixzz3EprxD0v5
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Map of Abington Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Some 200 Jenkintown residents, many of them elderly, are losing their apartments due to a dispute between local officials and the property owner.
“We’re the pawns in this,” said Marshall Jones, 93. “[The owner] is saying, ‘If you won’t do it our way, we’ll just close it down.’ ”
Jones has lived in the Colonade high-rise apartments on Old York Road, in the Jenkintown section of Abington Township, for 16 years. He and other residents have had a string of complaints about leaks, electrical outages, broken elevators, cold water, broken heaters, and other issues, many of which ended up in the courts.
In 2012, the building was cited for more than 200 code violations, and the township’s solicitor was “looking into criminal charges,” according to an Inquirer report.
POTTSTOWN — As recently as Aug. 14, Pottstown School Board members were assured by district administrators and construction consultants that renovation and expansion of Rupert Elementary School was on schedule for the opening of school on Sept. 2.
But just four days later, the administration announced that the school would not be ready on timeand students and staff would begin school in the former Edgewood Elementary School at 920 Morris St.
Three days after that announcement, frustrated school board members levied criticism at both the planning and execution of the project.
“To say I am disappointed in the efforts of the contractor is an understatement,” board member Ron Williams said.
Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Montgomery County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
POTTSTOWN, PA — Two proposals for becoming the next fixed base operator of the Pottstown Municipal Airport came in last week and borough council will likely approve the one from the company that already operates out of a nearby airport in Limerick.
Both Fare Share Ltd. of Limerick and Weston Inc. of Barto submitted proposals to succeed TNT Air Inc. as the Pottstown airport’s operator, council learned Wednesday at its committee-of-the-whole meeting.
Fare Share, which runs a pilot school and a charter company at Heritage Field in Limerick, received the borough staff’s recommendation to take over duties at the Pottstown Municipal Airport.
“They put together a pretty strong proposal,” Assistant Borough Manager Erica Weekley told council. “We ranked them first.”
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